Roanoke, VA vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Roanoke to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($301,139 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Roanoke vs St. Louis at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Roanoke, VA, you'd need about $104,131 in St. Louis, MO (+$4,131).
Livability — Roanoke, VA: 73 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,320 sqft in Roanoke vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($151 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Roanoke, VA | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,836 | $17,412 | +$576 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,934 | +$81 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,390 | +$310 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,512 | −$360 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $9,549 | $10,488 | +$940 |
| Total | $37,690 | $40,136 | +$2,446 |
Side by side
| Metric | Roanoke, VA | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.2 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.05% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $301,139 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.8% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $151 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,403 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |